COVID- 19 Response

In line with recent government guidelines under stage 4 restrictions we are still able to continue to provide veterinary care to your pets, as long as we continue to ensure our COVID SAFE PLAN requirements are met.

To reiterate our current guidelines:

• Phone the clinic on arrival - we will advise when we are ready for you to come through to the waiting room.
• 1 person per pet in the clinic at any given time - extra people should ideally not be leaving the house (exceptions include young children and at-risk people).
• Masks must be worn before entry into waiting room.
• Use hand sanitiser provided in waiting room upon entry.
• Discussion with vet in the waiting room as to the reason for visit, maintaining 1.5m distance.
• Vet to take patient through to consult room for examination and treatment (without client). Client to wait in waiting room or car.
• Patient returned/discharged in waiting room, with payment/collection of medication at reception.

Please continue to observe all social distancing measures (maintain 1.5m, personal hygiene) and please do not come into the clinic if you are unwell or have had contact with a known case of COVID. Please call to discuss options if any of this applies and you have a pet that needs veterinary attention.

We understand that this is not ideal and hope to return to normal client movement through the clinic as soon as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience and look forward to seeing you soon. Stay safe everyone we know that this is very difficult for you all.

Thank you all for your understanding

Warm Regards

Sam, Nicole, Ebonnie, Claire, Nikki, Laura, Brianna, Chanel, Chloe & Nicola

We are sorry to advise that due to the recent COVID lockdown, we must again make some changes to the running of the clinic to ensure we can continue to look after our clients, patients and staff into the future.  We are still an essential service so will still be able to perform all veterinary activities as normal with your pets.  However, we need to make some changes to the movement of people through the clinic.  As of Friday July 10th our new (temporary) protocols will be as follows:

• Phone the clinic on arrival - we will advise when we are ready for you to come through to waiting room.
• 1 person per pet in the clinic at any given time - if you have multiple people they will need to wait in the car or outside the clinic.
• Discussion with vet in the waiting room as to the reason for visit.
• Vet to take patient through to consult room for examination and treatment (without client).  Client to wait in waiting room or car.
• Patient returned/discharged in waiting room, with payment/collection of medication at reception.

Please continue to observe all social distancing measures (maintain 1.5m, personal hygiene) and please do not come into the clinic if you are unwell or have had contact with a known case of COVID.  Please call to discuss options if any of this applies and you have a pet that needs veterinary attention.

We would also like to take this oppotunity to thank our wonderful clients for your understanding.

Stay Safe,

From the Team at Greenvale Animal Hospital

...

We are happy to announce that as of Monday 15th of June, we will be once again allowing clients in the clinic.  Please note that we will still need to closely control the flow of people within the clinic to ensure the safety of our staff and clients.


The following rules will ensure we can continue to look after your as we move into this next phase of the outbreak:

• Call prior to entering clinic to ensure it is safe to enter (we have a limit on number of people allowed in clinic)
• 1 person per patient in the clinic at any given time
• Wait in the car prior to appointment (not waiting room)
• Continue to observe strict social distancing (no human-human contact where possible, practice high standards of hygiene, minimise face-to-face time).
• No unwell people in the clinic.  If you are unwell you can wait in the car and we will examine your pet in the clinic without you being present.
• Please ensure you bring a mobile phone..
• Please ensure your pet is suitably restrained with a leash or cage.

• Wait in your car upon arrival, and call the clinic to let us know you are here.   If we are ready we will advise you to come straight in, otherwise we will call you when ready or a vet will come out to your vehicle to collect you.  Please note only 1 person will be able to come in with your pet.
• The consultation will be performed with the vet.
• Our receptionist will take payment and arrange any future appointments.
• Please note we would prefer CREDIT CARD or EFTPOS payments.

Please note if you prefer to not enter the clinic, we can still examine your pet without you present.

Thank you all for your understanding

Warm Regards

Sam, Nicole, Ebonnie, Kelsey, Nikki, Laura, Amy, Brianna, Chanel and Chloe

...
 

To our valued clients,

We are currently going through a challenging time in the world with the coronavirus pandemic.  There are many stories floating around on social media and the traditional media that are providing a lot of information, which at times can be misleading and potentially wrong.  The situation is fluid and advice and guidelines can change quite rapidly.  Please note that we are receiving the latest guidelines from the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) and the Australian Government and adjusting our protocols accordingly as the pandemic progresses.  There is no immediate concern for clients at our clinic, we remain open at the same operating hours and business is continuing as usual.

Our goals as a clinic through this crisis are to protect our clients and staff in order to delay the spread of disease as much as possible (to flatten the curve), whilst still maintaining an exceptional level of care for your pets.  At times these goals may not be in complete alignment, but we will do our best to minimize any compromise.

Addressing your concerns:

Canine coronavirus, which causes diarrhoea, and feline coronavirus, which can cause feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), have been seen by veterinarians for many years.  They do not cause infections in humans.  These coronaviruses are not associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic.  There are also no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in domestic pets.

As a veterinary hospital, we constantly ensure a high level of hygiene in the clinic through regular cleaning and disinfecting.  In line with AVA guidelines we have made several adjustments to our regular protocols:

- Staff only in the hospital, surgery wards and toilet areas

- Anti-viral agents used to clean clinic (public and private areas) twice daily as opposed to regular disinfectants

- High contact areas (tables, door handles, reception bench) cleaned with anti-viral agents after each consultation

- Attempt to maintain 1.5m distance between staff and clients where possible

- Hand sanitiser in reception and consult rooms for clients

- No handshakes or hugging!

At this stage there is no shortage of supplies with veterinary medications or foods.

Yes!  Please see below.

It is very important that we all do our bit to slow the spread of the disease.  In regards to clinic visits we know our clients will do the right thing by following the protocols listed below:

If you are currently in self-isolation (due to recently returning from overseas, having contact with an infected person or are currently infected), or you are unwell with respiratory symptoms, please call us and let us know before your appointment.  For non-urgent visits we can postpone until you are through your isolation period and/or are no longer unwell.  For urgent problems, we can still see your animal, we will just need to vary how we do it:

- Stay in your car and call us from the carpark

- We will collect your animal and take them inside for examination

- We will get a history from you over the phone, and give you home-care instructions over the phone too

- We’ll return your animal to you in the carpark

- Payments can also be made over the phone

- We have hand sanitizer located in our reception area, please use it

- ONLY 1 healthy family member to attend per pet

- Keep 1.5m from other people where possible

- No handshakes or hugging

Thank you for your understanding during this difficult time.

From the staff at Greenvale Animal Hospital